Samsung Galaxy Note II Review (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint)

0.phoneArena
24 Oct 2012, 08:00posted on

Experimenting with something a bit out of the norm, Samsung decided to gamble on bringing back the stylus with the Samsung Galaxy Note – and surely enough, it proved successful in shedding some light on the long forgotten pointing device. Our friends overseas have been getting some good face time playing around with the impressive smartphone, but now the smartphone is coming to the US – with all four major carriers getting in on the fun!...

This is a discussion for a review. To read the whole review, click here

What's the difference between windows 8 between windows RT? I googled a lot only to find that even tech websites columnists have confusion about their difference. Is win RT a hybrid between win 7 & win8? Also whats the point of Win Pro? can you enlighten me on that?

Windows RT is developed under the ARM architecture, so therefore it does not run any of the windows xp, vista, 7 programs. Windows 8 pro on the other hand, is developed under the X86/X64 architecture and it runs all of the legacy programs and apps from previous operating systems.

Note: Windows RT and Windows 8 pro share the same Native code (kernel) and both have the full desktop environment in the background.

I like both Android and iOS operating systems, they have their cons and pros.

Android is an open source operating system developed under the linux core, it gives you almost the same freedom as a linux operating system on a PC, many customazion options, the ability to root it and great third party support. But all this comes at the cost of performace in some cases, most Android phones lag at a certain point, and they are not the easiest phones to use. But I think they finally got it right with Jelly bean.

iOS: It's a well built ecosystem all around, music, videos, movies, apps...almost everything you need. However it is a closed ecosystem, meaning that everything you do or use has to come from Apple. Third pary support is great too. The operating system is very simple to use, but sometimes boring and that makes you wanna upgrade your phone every year. There is no lag at all, at least 98% of the time.

In my case, I trust the finns more (Nokia), finland has the highest student achievement rate. They always come up with great stuff, I also like their designs and build quality of their products,I like their maps system (which is the best), and finally the great support that they're giving to their Lumia line.

That said, I've moved from Android to WP and haven't looked back. It's a good system, just not for me, and, really, probably not for most general non-enthusiast consumers. iphones have had their day, the world is moving on.

Wait for nexus or Go with Note II. You will never regret for choosing that. Want reasons? Note comes with JB out of the box where as Opt G still runs ICS not to mention that 4.2 is gonna be released in next week. And note II is still lighter than 920 with its gigantic 5.5 screen and has better eco system compared to windows store.

My thing with the Galaxy Note II will be the root scene. I root because I get total control of customization, features & performance. I know the source have been released but I am really interested to see how it does.

If the phone proves to have GREAT developer support on both the phone & processor then I am there. If not I am really hoping for this rumored HTC Nexus 5 to be a reality.

I have to admit that if I didn't root & would be ALL over this sexy/beast called the Samsung Galaxy Note II. For a stock phone this is REALLY hard to beat. The battery life is really, really impressive. Droid Razor MAXX HD who? lol

30.ZEUS.the.thunder.god (unregistered)

dont worry about Dev support as Sammy has already confirmed on twitter that they are looking into problems concerned with the proper documentation related to exynos. so I guess it will have great Dev support.

The phone is one sexy piece of hardware for sure. But is it worth nearly double the cost of the Nexus4.. that's my issue. And unless the N4 just sucks, I cant find many reasons that it's worth the extra cost. Have to wait to see N4 reviews to find out for sure though. Sammy definitely hit a high end home run with this thing though, that's for sure.

The Samsung Galaxy Note II has the S-Pen, the 3100 mAh beast of a battery, the support of up to a 64GB MicroSD card & the real stunner that beautiful 5.5" RGB Super AMOLED HD screen. All those things equal better than the LG Nexus 4. Plus more functionality.

To me the price is justifiable. Now add GREAT developer support as ZEUS.the.thunder.god is saying & I really thing this phone has no rival.

44.ZEUS.the.thunder.god (unregistered)

48.XPERIA-KNIGHT (unregistered)

that 5.5 inch rgb screen is still amoled in which i am sure the IPS LCD on the N4 is much clearer and brighter plus its a quad core nexus for gods sakes! Gonna have key lime pie, a better processor S4 pro, and to top it off........THE PRICE MAY ONLY BE 400 DOLLARS!!!

Hey that's you. I respect that. The Qualcomm quad-core S4 Pro is indeed the best, no doubt. The Exynos 4 quad-core @ 1.6GHz is not to shabby either. The screen is debatable, they are BOTH 720p screens just that one is 4.7" & one is 5.5".

You will be able to see & read things better on a larger screen so the advantage has to go to the bigger screen always.

You are right about the price point. Sure the LG Nexus 4 will be cheaper but it won't be able to do what the Samsung Galaxy Note II can, but the Samsung Galaxy Note II WILL be able to do what the LG Nexus 4 can.

Also about Key Lime Pie, I ALWAYS root. To me if you own an Android & you can follow steps like in a cook book, then you can most definitely root. If I get the Samsung Galaxy Note II, I will root that beast. I will make it how I want & make it perform better than Samsung could ever do, thanks to the GREAT Android developer ecosystem that is out there. I will have Android 4.2 Key Lime Pie. Maybe not the same day the source is released but as early as a couple of days to a full week after the LG Nexus 4 gets it. That is how fast rooted non Nexus phones get the most up to date Android versions.

So when I root my Samsung Galaxy Note II in theory I will be turning the phone into a 5.5", S-Pen powered, 3100 mAh battery & up to a 64GB MicroSD card reading Nexus. As always with the ability to put a custom ROM & Kernels that I choose.

41.ZEUS.the.thunder.god (unregistered)

well I have to disagree with you Remix on the price. I think Sammy has justified it. As much as I love my GneX, I have to agree that this phone is a beast and real value for money. But thats just my opinion.

45.ZEUS.the.thunder.god (unregistered)

thanx bro. and yeah I read about Sammy taking care of Exynos documentation issue. They are always very supportive when it comes to Dev community. Lets hope for the best. But I was really looking forward to GneX II this year so may be wait for next year or might go for Lg Nexus if price is right here in India.

SuperAndro, I agree. As a Note owner in the US, I've been very forunate to have amazing dev support. I've been running liquid smooth on my note since its release and this is straight out butter. The note 2 I'm sure will have plenty of dev support. As much as I love all the innovations Samsung put in, I'm gonna turn that beast into stock android regardless. Crossing my fingers there's a HTC nexus 5. I would hop all over that within seconds get myself into debt haha.

I'm in the same boat as you. Just sitting and waiting. Having this gigantic screen has spoiled me. I won't accept anything less than 5 inches now. One of my devs said he may be getting the Note II. He's done amazing work withe Gnote 1 so far. ManelScout4Life waiting to find out if he's going with the Gnote 2. Sadly, that will strongly sway my decision lol.

I dunno, from what I understand developers have a harder time developing for phones running Exynos processors, for some reason? I would get the phone if that is false, or just wait for either the HTC Nexus 5 or the HTC J Butterfly or whatever it's called, 5 Inch 1080p Screen with 440 pixel density, quad core Snapdragon S4 Pro and 2 gigs of RAM, count me in!

Case closed... As I have been stating for the last month nothing will be better than the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 for the next 180 days period. This review proves my point 100% this device is worth any amount. And will be mines come November 1st.

I am putting the Note in third place though because of the low quality case and screen, but I love the size. The Lumia is well-built and has Win 8 so it should be damn good. The Optimus looks awesome as well - high quality parts, awesome screen, etc, but I am a tad worried that Android hasn't fixed their wifi connectivity issues such as having to use a static IP address to connect to a wifi hotspot/modem/router (2 out the last 3 Androoid devices I have owned had this issue).

Right now I am waiting to see what the Nexus 4 (LG) looks like, then I'll make my final decision.

I know, I can't take it anymore (I feel like one of those people who habitually stand on-line when a phone is released; of course, this is different because it's 'the Next Big Thing', unlike the same old small thing that those other people wait on-line for [dangle preposition...]).

November is my decision month. Specifically, early November (9th). If VZW hasn't announced for late November shipping, I may have bite the bullet and go with the AT&T edition. I am not going to wait into December for VZW to ship something this good.

Yeah patience.... Ever walk around with a small pebble in your shoe? At some point, you just have to stop and remove the shoe to get rid of the pebble. For me, that point will occur when the AT&T edition of the Note II ships.

No one knows more about that proverbial "pebble" than I. After all, I dealt for years with Microsoft Windows phones after Windows Mobile 2003SE hoping that they would continue to evolve
but, instead experienced the steady spiraling devolution of Windows Mobile 5,
5.1, 6.0, 6.1, 6.5, etc!

Edit: I am 'justifying' AT&T by trying to convince myself that it would be good to have a second carrier for those times when VZW doesn't have coverage.... Lame, I know, but still, that is how bad I want this toy.

Come on VZW!!!! Your version has already received certification from the FCC, so it is nothing more than you f*cking with the market.

"John V." this phone deserves a "10" solely based on that video posted yesterday demoing the use of the S-Pen to paint on top of all the other hardware that completely blows anything else, including that teeny-tiny "other" phone with the headphone jack now on the bottom' (which is half a phone compared to the G-Note II).

Thank you, I didn't want to point out all those issues for fear of getting another "warning". But, you're right that "other" phone (if you can call it a phone) has a host of hardware and software issues and it, too, got a "9". Someone at PhoneArena (cough, cough Michael H.) should review, revise and update "John V's" atrocious rating.

I did the same thing in April (for WP7, of course, not 8) and haven't looked back. No crashes, no restarting launchers, no random reboots, great signal and voice quality, and the data and memory isn't being hogged by a bunch of poorly written apps

John V is this year's Ray S for the Note. Score of 9 without a con, where did the 1 go? The absence of fruit logo probably hid it. Seriously I've been using the Note 2 for a week now and I think it's the most fluid android yet both hardware and software. coming from Note 1 I'm impressed to the maxx.

HTC One M9 camera review: Exploring every corner of the Sense camera app

All content (phone reviews, news, specs, info), design and layouts are Copyright 2001-2015 phoneArena.com. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part or in any form or medium without written permission is prohibited! Privacy . Terms of use . Cookies . Team